Francis Ngannou has his name in all the headlines after his fight against Tyson Fury. Despite a razor-thin split-decision loss, Ngannou truly shook the world up with his performance. However, his close friend Israel Adesanya does not see himself trying to attempt something similar.
Recently, former UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou took on the WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in a boxing match. An old friend of Ngannou, Adesanya, along with Kamaru Usman was present alongside the Cameroonian in the lead-up to the fight. Notably, the two former champions also accompanied Francis for his ring walk on the night.
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Following what many felt was a ‘robbery,’ Adesanya took to his socials to share his thoughts and explain why he doesn’t want to return to boxing. “Boxing as a sport is beautiful. Boxing as a business is corrupt as f**k!” Further, he continues, “Having to learn a whole new set of skills from scratch was very humbling, but it paid off in the long run. It was fun but I’ll never box again, I prefer to use all my weapons in a real fight‼️”
Posting a clip from his own boxing days, ‘The Last Stylebender’ revealed how he too faced corruption in the sport. Here, he stated how his opponent did not get a point deducted for illegal strikes. On the other hand, Izzy himself got a stern warning after attempting a Superman punch. Naturally, after witnessing what happened to Francis, Adesanya felt compelled to share his story too.
What is Israel Adesanya’s boxing record?
A renowned martial artist in his own right and two-time UFC middleweight champ, Israel has enjoyed an illustrious career as well. Initially starting off as a kickboxer, Adesanya slowly transitioned to Muay Thai before trying his hand at boxing. Notably, Adesanya only had a brief stint in boxing, before returning to his kickboxing roots.
Previously, Izzy made his boxing debut in 2014 at the Super 8 Boxing Championship 2. Unfortunately, it was not to be as Adesanya suffered a unanimous decision loss to Daniel Ammann. However, he was not disparaged and returned the next year at Super 8 Boxing Championship 3. This time around, Izzy performed much better, winning all three of his bouts by way of KO/TKO, a majority decision and split decision, respectively.
However, the former UFC champ was not done yet as he returned to boxing at Super 8 Boxing Championship 4 as well. This time around, the New Zealand-based fighter secured both wins by way of a unanimous decision. Thus, Adesanya’s professional boxing record reads 5 wins and 1 loss. Although he clearly possesses the talent for it Israel has always refrained from indulging in boxing again.
Currently, the 34-year-old has decided to take some time off from fighting. Earlier this year, at UFC 293, Adesanya lost his title for the second time in two years to Sean Strickland. Having been one of the most active athletes in MMA, his decision to take some time off was well-received by all. Teasing a return in 2027, do you believe Adesanya will change his mind and box again? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
